1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for effectively joining and/or reinforcing separated soft tissues in humans and animals. More particularly, the invention is directed to a method and apparatus for placement of implants for reapproximating separations in or reinforcing weakened or separated soft tissues normally subject to flexure or strains such as for example, muscles, tendons or ligaments without excessive abrasion.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, end to end repair of elastic tissue such as muscles, tendons and ligaments, separated either by surgical procedure or injury, involves suturing the ends of the tissue together for a time sufficient to permit normal healing. The ends of the tissue are joined with a wide variety of both absorbable and nonabsorbable suture and implant materials. With nonabsorbable suture materials, the sutures are typically removed within one or two weeks of implantation or left in place.
Conventional curved suture needles, with their small radii, significantly limit the distance over which the suture can be buried. This limitation requires that the sutures be positioned proximal to the severed ends of the tissue. Particularly, in the case of soft elastic tissue such as muscles, tendons or ligaments, conventionally implanted sutures have a tendency to prematurely pull through the joined ends of the tissue when it is flexed or subject to slight strains. When this occurs, the tissue ends separate and healing is arrested necessitating further surgery to repair the damage. One particularly advantageous suture for use in joining ends of soft elastic tissue is a braided suture. Braided sutures are well known in the art and are more supple and workable than conventional monofilament sutures for a given tensile strength. Braided sutures, however, tend to abrade these types of soft tissue as they are implanted. It is desirable to be able to introduce a relatively rough-surfaced braided suture without causing tissue damage because, once in place, this type of suture may provide some frictional resistance to pull-out, keep the two ends of the tissue being reapproximated from pistoning and provide a scaffold for tissue ingrowth as healing progresses thus reinforcing the repair.
It is also common to repair, reinforce or replace tendons and ligaments with prosthetic devices, as for example the anterior cruciate ligament. Prosthetic ligaments such as the Gore-Tex cruciate ligament device are generally implanted through tunnels and anchored at either end. After the tunnels are drilled, it is generally viewed as important to chamfer both the internal and external surfaces to remove sharp edges in an attempt to prevent damage to the prosthesis during placement.
Other common types of procedures involving the reapproximation or reinforcing of tissue ends by implant material include, inter alia, patellar reconstruction, collateral ligament repair, knee repair, rotator cuff, tendon suturing, muscle facia suturing, tendon advancement, reattachment or grafting as well as muscle transfer.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a method and apparatus which permits implant materials of all types to be easily and efficiently positioned in soft or hard tissue over an extended distance remote from ends of the tissue to be joined without excessive abrasion.
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide apparatus which facilitates placement of implant materials within soft or hard tissue over extended distances beyond the ends of the tissue to be joined.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which protects the soft or hard tissue and the implant material from abrasion during implantation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for implanting an implant material within soft or hard tissue over extended distances without excessive abrasion to the tissue or implant material.
These and other highly desirable and unusual results are accomplished by the present invention in a method and apparatus for implanting an implant material over extended distances within soft or hard tissue to reapproximate and/or reinforce separated ends of the tissue and thus resist the tendency to prematurely pull through the ends of the reapproximated or reinforced tissues when subject to flexure or slight strain. The apparatus and method further permit implantation of a wide variety of implant materials such as sutures, including braided sutures, prosthetic devices such as, for example, tapes, ribbons, braided hollow tubes or other elongated structures, in whole or in part, or tissue augmentation devices without excessive abrasion to the tissue or the implant material.
Objects and advantages of the invention are set forth in part herein and in part will be obvious therefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, which is realized and attained by means of instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims. The invention consists of novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations, steps and improvements herein shown and described.